Heineken Cup

Munster end years of woe and the town is painted red

What a match. What a fight. Because - let us not pull our punches here - that's what it was, an elemental collision of wills sustained by the sheer courage and physical commitment of both sets of combatants.

Against a backdrop of heaving redness, Munster finally got there, to the top of the European club-rugby mountain. They had come so close before, in 2002, losing 15-9 to Leicester in the most controversial of circumstances, and before that by a point to Northampton in 2000.

But no way were they going to let this one slip. They fell behind early, recovered and then, with a mixture of desperation, skill and blind fury, they hung on. Biarritz, maybe overcome by the wall of Irish noise that invaded their senses, didn't quite match them. They looked beaten up as well as 'Gara went into safety-first mode. With plenty of ball, he turned Biarritz with long, raking kicks. Then the forwards went to work. They stole the line-out and O'Gara positioned himself for the drop goal at the next ruck - only for Biarritz to turn it over and clear.

The suspicion that there are only two sorts of people on this earth - Irishmen and those who want to be - was eerily underscored when the big screen in the stadium flashed up a packed main street of Limerick, and Cardiff was deafened in a roar that reached across the Irish Sea.

You knew which way the fight was going physically by the movement on the bench. When Federico Pucciariello came on for Marcus Horan in the 63rd minute, he was Munster's first replacement; Biarritz already had four fresh men on for their wounded. When Benjamin Noirot followed soon afterwards, taking over the hooking duties from Benoit August, Munster had seen off four of the Biarritz pack, including the captain Lievremont, with quarter of an hour to go. Betsen was still there, the most gnarled of warhorses and obviously nursing the odd bruise. He emerged ever more slowly from each ruck. Ruthlessness, indeed.

Yachvili tried to take a quick tap but was called back - and then slotted home the angled penalty from 35 metres to close the margin to a point.

The teams played out the final 10 minutes without their captains, Mick O'Driscoll having replaced Anthony Foley, but there was no need for cheerleading - everyone was aware of their responsibilities. No one more so than the kickers - and, when Census Johnston entered a ruck from the side, O'Gara kicked his third penalty just when it was needed, in the home stretch.

Bobo, scorer at the start, ran into one of his own players with the line, if not begging at least invitingly close, in the closing minutes. Yachvili went mental. As he might. It was the last punch of the fight. And it missed.

Man of the Match

PETER STRINGER
He only slightly edged out thousands of his delirious countrymen and a few of his forwards as the most influential Munster man in the stadium, but Peter Stringer, cajoling, sniping and inspiring, turned in a classic scrum-half performance. When he rounded Serge Betsen to score, Cardiff knew they were home.